Random Nonsense From Me

Random Nonsense From Me

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Pandan (Screwpine) chiffon cake must be the most well-loved chiffon cakes. I have read in the newspapers that artistes from Taiwan and Hong Kong raved about this 绿色蛋糕 (green cake) like it is some kind of ambrosia and would bring back boxes of them as gifts for their friends and relatives. To me, it is kinda strange phenomenon. Yes, I love it too but I will not go all out to buy it, let alone buy them as gifts (people might call me a cheapo behind my back). Perhaps we have taken things that are always available for granted. Pandan chiffon cakes can be easily available at neighbourhood bakeries. Correct me if I am wrong but I think it might have been made popular by Bengawan Solo. I think they are selling it at S$7 to S$8. Even BreadTalk came up with Strawberry chiffon cake (with frosting), costing S$18 for one. *Ahem~ which I will not buy. Just work out the sums and you will know why.

If I recall correctly, the Straits Times papers featured chiffon cakes recently. Most of us growing up eating it. I do not know anyone who doesn't like chiffon cake (let me know if you do). I think the combination of the pandan leaves and coconut milk is a match made in heaven, making it irresistable. On top of that, who could resist a soft and fluffy cake? To me, it is one of the comfort food. I am very fortunate to have a mom who cooks and bakes well. Chiffon cakes is one of her specialty. Her most popular flavours are Orange chiffon cakes and Pandan chiffon cakes. I remembered her baking 6 chiffon cakes in a row, one after another. Every one of them were perfect!

I didn't bake much when I was still single. When I picked up baking again, my first chiffon cake flopped. I followed some online recipes and failed miserably. I went back to my mom for help and she dug up her recipe and gave it to me. She told me what to look out for, tips and tricks to make a good chiffon cake. The 'shifu' (master) is right in front of me but I didn't see it. I must be blind. My chiffon cake recipes are modified based on her Pandan cake recipe. Strange how I make all those previous flavours but did not attempt the Pandan version. So here is my modified version of her chiffon cake, which yields the same soft and fluffy cake but with reduced sugar and fat.

4) In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat till the whites are frothy. Add in sugar gradually and beat till soft peaks.

5) Add in Cream of Tartar and beat till stiff peaks.

6) Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula till incorporated.

7) Pour the mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold in gently till incorporated.

8) Pour the batter into a 21cm chiffon tube pan. Bang the pan on the table to get rid of bubbles.

9) Oil a piece of aluminium foil and cover the pan loosely. Bake at 170 deg.C for 10mins.

10) Turn down the temperature to 160 deg.C and bake for 20mins.

11) Reduce the temperature to 150 deg.C and bake for 10mins. Insert a skewer to check if the cake is done. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 to 10mins to brown the surface.

12) Remove from the oven and invert the pan. Run a sharp knife along the edges to remove the cake from pan when it's completely cooled.

*Note : As I usually bake at night during weekdays, the wet market is closed. Moreover, fresh coconut cannot last till I get home. I used chilled coconut milk instead. Those that are in sterilised pack, which water needs to be added before usage. I am not impressed with its taste. If possible, try to get fresh coconut milk.

**Note : I prefer not to use artificial flavouring such as pandan paste and colouring.

One thing to take note of my modified recipe is that it cannot keep well. For cakes to keep better, more sugar and fat is needed. I reduced just enough sugar to keep my parents and the egg whites happy. Thus should you use my recipe, I would suggest to finish it within 3 days, if it can last that long. Ahahah~ Else, please refrigerate what is left. Be sure to keep them in an airtight container as chiffon cakes will absorb other smells in the fridge.

Happy baking~ それじゃ～～

*Update 07/19 : A fellow blogger, Katherine spotted my typo. The corn oil used is supposed to be 40g instead of 20g. Apologies.

20 comments:

Hi there, greetings from Tsukuba, Jpn..I just tried your recipe but I substitute the pandan juice and coconut milk with mango juice and milk, it still turned out very nice and very spongee..Luv it! But just want to confirm about the baking powder..is it 1/2 tablespoon or teaspoon? I put 1/2 tablespoon but think it is so much...

it's me again. :X i have some questions that i need to ask. hope you can answer.

1. if i'm using a round pan, what would the measurement be like.

2. is it possible to substitute cake flour with other flours eg top flour (because when i was at the supermarket happened to see that it says it's good for chiffon cakes, so i just bought it)

3. you stated 9) oil a piece of aluminium foil... do i use butter or normal oil for this?

4. last question, if i am unable to get fresh coconut milk, you mentioned about diluting the chilled coconut cream. how do you go about doing this?

you see, i have attempted pandan chiffon twice using a different recipe asking for 6 egg yolks and whites. the first time i baked it, the top burnt and the bottom still moist, in the sense that when i remove the cake from the pan, there is still a thin moist layer of pandan mixture/cake. the sides were a lil brown. the second time got similar results even with a lower temperature. worst, the sides weren't brown at all. there were also like small moist lumps in the cake. it was in all, not spongy enough, too moist and thick. so with this, i figured maybe i'll try a different recipe and immediately thought of yours. thinking of trying it today.

so sorry for my many questions, still a noob at chiffon cakes. thanks!

Dianne : Hope my reply is not too late. 1. I have not used a round pan for chiffon cake. I think you can either use a 21cm (same) or a 23cm pan if you are worried about excess batter.

2. Top flour would be good too. It is also a low protein flour. I use it for chiffon cakes too.

3. I used normal oil.

4. I got this coconut cream thing from the supermarket. The instructions was on the pack. Or you can just use the 'Kara' brand coconut milk. You don't have to dilute that.

If top is burnt, you may have placed the cake too near the top heating element. You can either cover the top with foil or adjust the rack level. If bottom and sides are not browned, it is an indication that the cake is underbaked.

6 eggs recipe is quite a big cake to handle. The yolk batter is quite heavy to mix, that is why you might find lumps. I would suggest you try out 3 eggs or 4 eggs recipe to get acquainted with the cake batter first.

Though depending on individual performance of the oven, but the temperature for baking chiffon cake is at least 170 deg.C. If temperature is stated lower than that, it maybe designed to prevent the top from cracking, but you need to prolong the baking time. For eg.; if a 4 egg recipe, 21cm cake took 50 mins to bake at 170 ~ 175 deg.C, a 6 egg recipe stated 160 deg.C and bake for 50 mins is ridiculous. Thus you need to prolong the baking time accordingly.

If you are using other recipe; you are sure that you did not underbeat the whites, overfold the batter or underbake the cake and it is still too moist, you need to check the flour and liquid ratio of the recipe.

Hope this helps. Good luck and hope to hear good news from you soon. :)

thanks for answering! one last clarification, is it okay if i replace castor sugar with fine sugar? and what other flours can i use to replace with top flour cos it seems like there are very limited recipes using top flour.

Youfei : Yes, you might have overfolded the egg whites or you could have overbeat the whites. The liquid you are referring to is after the cake is baked or when you flipped the whites? The liquid is the cake batter? You might want to drop me an email instead?